U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Office of Survey Methods Research

Abstract

William J. Wiatrowski (2008)
"Customer and Respondent Outreach Initiatives at the Bureau of Labor Statistics"

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides key economic statistics such as payroll employment, the unemployment rate, and the consumer price index, as well as statistics on compensation, productivity, workplace safety and health, and other topics. The BLS has undertaken a number of customer relations initiatives in recent years designed both to inform data users and to encourage respondents to provide data. Among the topics to be discussed are new publications, Internet sites geared toward respondents, improvements in electronic data collection, and a test to determine what effect targeted changes to materials provided to respondents had on survey response rates.